Saturday, March 21, 2009

Steve and the Delights of the Barnyard Cats

Brig was probably almost two when this picture was taken. The cat (name, please?) had kittens, and Steve helped Brig locate them. There is a series of these pictures, and you can't tell it in this one, but Brig is wearing Steve's old red sweater. Steve reminded me of these pictures - taken during a stay at Penrose. (Don't you love how handsome Steve is in these - and his cowboy hat to boot.)

Did we really last a whole week hoeing beets? Of course - not. Judy lasted longer than I did. She tried to keep me going, but I was quite resistant to the idea. Besides, the summer was hotter that year, the weeds were meaner, Mother was gone to Laramie and Dad needed us at home, to bake the bread, do the dishes, wash the milkers, keep track of Steve, etc.

I think it is important to remember that by the time we were old enough to work in the fields, Dad wasn't growing sugar beets. We had to go hunting for a field of beets to hoe. Money was certainly the enticement - but----. However, another reallllly important thing to remember is that I washed the milkers for three years (not an easy job, by the way - just ask me about the ugly salamander that slithered out from under the milk tank that Mother scooped up and kept in a terrarium in her classroom for years)and Judy took care of the house and did alot of cooking because Mother was teaching. In other words I am quite resistant to being called wimps.

Okay, we need a lot of correction on these entries, as follows:1. Dwight and I thinned (with a short-handled hoe) and hoed beets, as well as beans - long rows, hard work.2. Since I was the official cow herder, both on the spring ditchbanks, and to and from the pasture at the head of the fields, there was a pretty large herd to milk by hand - but not as many as the milking machines could handle.3. We all worked hard, but it is a fact that the younger family (Judy, Ann, and Steve) had a little easier time of it than we did. After all, forced air heating, running water, etc. certainly made for a life of ease, didn't it?????? 3. Must be time for another picture - help, anyone???

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Welcome to the Blood Family Blog

Welcome to our blog. We look forward to getting acquainted with and linking to other familes who want to know more about who we are. We have come a long way from our rural beginnings in the small country valley of Penrose in northwest Wyoming, but our roots and fond memories are still attached to where we began.

The Blood family blog is an information center for the extended family of Russell and Minnie Blood. The Blood family is a large and diverse family. We have school teachers, college professors, attorneys, financial planners, day care providers, pharmacists, engineers, coaches, realtors, quilters, crafters, scrapbookers, photographers, writers, wood workers, metal crafters, college students, young marrieds, old marrieds, Republicans, and a few Democrats. We live all over the country. We hope you enjoy our story.